"The church has forgotten what it means to equip the Christian mind. It is
more concerned with putting on productions than putting out disciples. The end
result is a bunch of whiney adults who don’t like the way the power-point
presentation looked last week, or complain that the coffee bar needs to have
more flavors to choose from. We have successfully dumbed down the Word of God.
Intimacy with the Almighty is not something we strive for anymore. We scream
“Relevance!” and sacrifice the minds Christ has given us.With mega-churches growing like Jack’s beanstalk, the new American mind-set
of evangelism is, “Get’em into the church building, put on a good show, don’t
offend them, give them some Starbucks, and BAM! They’ll get saved.” After all,
we must be “all things to all men.” But what happens when we become everything
to the world? Christians become everything and nothing."
My sister and I were discussing this thought last night..oddly enough. It seems that with our upbring in such a conservative church has restricted us with lack of knowledge. Follow me here with this for a moment. In Sunday School we were taught bible stories and Categism we were taught doctrines and teachings that are based very strongly on the bible. BUT we never really got to know the Bible in all honesty. So we memorized scripture and knew the basic stories; there was never really any in-depth studying - realizing who God really is.
You could say there was some onus on our part but at the same time - we didn't know any better. Without being exposed to new experiences we would have never realized how much we are sorely lacking knowing our Lord Jesus Christ. My church opened that possibility for me with a bible study that opened my eyes to the majesty and love of God. Not only does He Love you, but He LIKES you.
Now back to the quote from above. Interestingly enough the church I attend now is the opposite of the "corporate church". The Pastor is not worried about growing in numbers - he's more interested in the peoples of the church - staying connected. It's a small congregation with a huge heart and a good community - no one is left to fall between the cracks. Sermons aren't sugar coated and always give you warm fuzzies - he's challenging, down-to-earth and honest. If him and/or the church is struggling - he is truthful and will let the congregation know. I like my little church - I'm allowed to be involved and I am accepted for who I am regardless of my upbring in a different denomination.
In some circumstances I don't see a problem with the church being a bit mainstream. In this day in age everything revolves around technology and communication and naturally the church needs to evolve otherwise it will become stagnet and people become disinterested. Not saying this is a way to save ppl - with flashy videos and powerpoints - but without embracing some bits of mainstream, things become so traditional. I will use my parents church as an example - that church is soooo far behind the times and what is happening to the young ppl? They are leaving the church, being rebellious (which links to other issues which I'm not exploring now) - not being exposed to new experience and a true relationship with Christ.
Not all churches are the same and I think churches need to stay unique - if the church is meant to attract certain ppl - it will. Why push to be THE church? If it's Christ's church, things will happen in the way God wants it to!
"You don't pray so you can change things in the world. It's not magic. You might ask, and you might hope for change, but ultimately changing things cannot be your motivation" Real Live Preacher
What a great quote! Definitely worth remembering (and well for me, jotting it down for future reference)
Comments?